"[T]his isn’t the first time that Grayson has done reprehensible things. He called a woman a “K Street Whore,” and said Republicans want Americans to “die quickly.” And the Tea Party is often wrongly maligned," says an RNC spokesman in an email.

"Where does DWS and the DNC stand on this? Afterall DWS and Grayson are both Floridians. Promoting hate has no place in political discourse."

Debbie Wasserman Schultz is out, today, with her first book. In his Politico Playbook, Mike Allen calls it a "D.C. Must-Read." Which, if true, is the most depressing news to come out of the Imperial City so far this week. But, then, it is only Tuesday.

The religulous journey of Bill Maher.

The Scrapbook is decidedly not in the habit of waxing nostalgic about the golden age of civility in politics. Our position is clear: There never was one. It is true that Congressman X (R) may have shared a highball with Senator Y (D) at the Monocle in 1965, but the Democratic majority in Congress was so prohibitive in those days that GOP members had little choice but to cultivate their masters in any way they knew.

When asked this morning about President Obama's response to the super PAC ad that ties Mitt Romney to a victim of cancer, CBS's Norah O'Donnell had this to say:

"Look, this is a question that Obama has to answer for--which is about the tone of the campaign," O'Donnell said. "Many people believe that Obama was about 'hope' and 'change' in 2008, but it is true he ran a very negative campaign in 2008 as well."

"Duck, Dodge, and Dismantle."

"It's our responsibility, whether we're Democrats or Republicans, whether we agree or disagree, to remember we're Americans first, and that words have an impact," Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said after a crazed gunman opened fire on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and others at a open event with constituents in Tucson, Arizona. "We don't know when the words we've chosen will send someone whose psyche is frayed to begin with, over the edge."

Huzzah!

Democrats and their partisans in the mainstream media have been fully occupied these past few days with demonizing conservatives for their successful stand against tax increases in the debt ceiling compromise. To Thomas Friedman, the Tea Party is the “Hezbollah faction” of the Republican party. Maureen Dowd wrote a “column” about the Tea Party holding people ransom in a horror movie where the president will “need a bigger boat.” Even our normally thoughtful and taciturn vice president joined in, agreeing with Rep. Mike Doyle's assertion that “We have negotiated with terrorists.

Robert Gibbs declined to answer repeated questions today about Obama's use of the offensive term, "teabagger" to refer to Tea Party activists, as reported in Jonathan Alter's new book, "The Promise: President Obama, Year One."

"I barely have enough time to read my briefing books," Gibbs told reporters at today's press briefing. "I have not read the book."

As he tried to move on, CBS' Chip Reid offered to laughter: "You only have to read one word."

Asked again later in the briefing, Gibbs parried, but finally promied to report back:

It's not "hope and change."

Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress didn’t invent the politics of vilification, and they will not be the last to practice it. The president and his political allies, however, have refined the practice to an art form – they say they abhor vilification, yet consistently demonize when promoting their legislative aims.